AUBURN, Ala. - Will Kendall did not allow an earned run in 5 2/3 innings and Slade Smith slammed the door shut with 3 1/3 innings of shutout baseball as the Auburn baseball team clinched its series with Belmont with a 3-2 win on Saturday afternoon at Plainsman Park. The win improved Auburn's record to 10-6 while Belmont dropped to 8-7.

"We did everything we could to try and manufacture runs and fortunately we got enough," Auburn Head Coach John Pawlowski said. "Will Kendall and Slade Smith both did an outstanding job of pitching with the lead."

Kendall (2-0), who allowed five hits and two walks while striking out five, ran his streak of innings without allowing an earned run to 16 on the year. The only blemishes on his line came in the fifth when Belmont struck for a pair of unearned runs on a Dylan Craig two-out, two-run double.

Smith, making his third relief appearance of the season, entered in the sixth with Auburn up, 3-2, and men on first and second and two out. The sinkerballer needed just two pitches to get an inning ending ground ball to keep the Auburn lead intact.

Smith would face trouble again in the eighth after allowing a two-out triple but this time he got a strike out to keep Auburn in the lead. The sophomore then nailed down the first save of his career in the ninth with a game-ending double play with men on first and second.

"Despite our three errors our defense is why we won that game in the end," Smith said. "I get ground balls but we have a defense behind me that can turn double plays and get the outs."

Auburn took a 1-0 lead in the first as Creede Simpson walked and scored on a Cullen Wacker RBI single. For Simpson the walk extended his streak of reaching base safely to 20 straight games dating to last season.

Ryan Tella extended the lead to 2-0 in the third when his sacrifice fly scored Jay Gonzalez after he singled to start the inning. Tella finished the game 3-for-3, his third three-hit game of the season.

"I knew I had to come back from yesterday after going 0-for-4 and try and get some momentum," Tella said.